Between debates, I hypothesized that Kerry won by alternating plain spokenness with elaboration, while Bush spoke only in staccatto sound bites. I also guessed, based on the 2000 debates, that the VP debate generally tended to be more "sophisticated". The argument was based on the relatively high reading level of the Cheney-Lieberman debate. Thus I suspected that Cheney would out-wonk Edwards, whose strengths lie in stump speaking, being Southern, and being likeable.
Now, I underestimated Edwards' policy knowledge on health care, where he made good points on PBoR, "tort reform", and railed against the Medicare bill. Plus, the White House has no domestic record they can out-wonk anyone with; they have an unfunded education bill and a terrible terrible Medicare Bill. But depending on how much credibility people give Dick Cheney's various foreign policy points, he might be said to have come out ahead for the first half of the debate.
But polls of undecideds seem so show that Johnny Sunshine came out ahead; despite the fact that all he did on Iraq was repeat the winning lines from the first debate. So let me be the first to say that they were right, and I was wrong.
:)